oining us for "inside story". see you next time. i'm ray from briny tidal pools comes sign that trouble in the air is dripping down into our food supply. >> who knows how far this issue goes. if it's affecting our oysters, what other oysters is it affecting? >> "america tonight's" lisa fletcher with the stories the shells tell. these migrant crises and the families at the center of it.

>> this is the most disturbing experience in my whole life. >> what would you do to change brooks county? >> i would shut it down . >> thanks for joining us, i'm joie chen. a deadline looms one that could be the trigger for america's next migrant crisis. you will recall the wave of young children some with their mothers, some unaccompanied that threatened to whoax overwhelm officials last year. a federal judge stands poised to release a thousand of them but even that will raise concerns about what happens next. "america tonight" christof putzel meets families in a facility not far from pennsylvania's exeal citypennsylvania's capital city where they wait in limbo. >> translator: i thought they

would give me asylum quickly and coy leave with my family. >> reporter: criminal gans gangs had an abducted her as a child. they were placed in a detention center where three-year-old katherine started vomiting up blood all over her clothes. >> translator: when i brawrt her to the medical -- brought her to the medical staff they told me nothing but cleaned her up give her water and make sure she gets sufficient rest. >> reporter: how long did it take to see a doctor? >> four days. when should i looked really pame really pale and not eating. they sent her to the doctor.

some of them have been detained for more than a year. immigration advocates say that undocumented children and their parents used to be released on bond after a short time. but following last summer's wave of unaccompanied minors, the u.s. government changed its policy and started to detain entire families for extended periods. >> we have to put in place, and i think we're doing this a number of deterrent factors, increased housing to detain parents, adults who come to this country with their children, expedited removals. if an adult is apprehended at the border, they are a priority for removal and we are building additional space to hold them so they can be returned quickly. >> this is the most disturbing experience of my life. >> reporter: this man whom we are calling model spent five

weeks at brooks county. >> 90% of them are from central america, 90% are women with little kids, two years old, one years old. anyone who goes and looks in the iceeyes of those kids, he would like them to go out the next day, the same day. because a kid should not live in a prison for a single hour. it's unjust. cruel. and unreasonable. >> these women are the strongest people i've ever met. i don't know how they do it. i don't know how they do it for their children. >> carey ann donahoe is an immigration attorney for many of the mothers held at brooks county. >> up to june they would be released to friends or others in the country. they would still have to show up at court prove their case but they weren't detained.

my one client if they are still here in august, her five-year-old daughter will have spent two birthdays locked up. >> reporter: nearly 100 people are held at brooks county center. the detainees are under constant guard. we are not allowed to take our cameras inside but there are women just the other side of that yard who have agreed to give us a call. >> it's been a very hard experience for me and my children. my children are always afraid of the workers because of the way they treat us. >> reporter: why are you afraid of the workers? >> they yell at you. they won't let the children play freely. they won't let them be free. the children don't want to be here. they don't want to eat. they are poorly nourished because the food is not well prepared.

>> bad speaking from the guards is not only complaint. according to the criminal complaint the teenage victim told police that she worried about negative consequences of refusing the guard's advances. the guard's attorney declined "america tonight's" request for comment. >> the guard was fired, but they did not counsel the women. they did not counsel the children. they did not tell them you know this was a power imbalance. >> they were asking the women not to wear tight pants because they thought that that staff has committed what was there because the women were wearing tight pants. >> reporter: so the response of the staff was to ask them to wear clothes that were less revealing? >> they go to the victim as the one responsible about this act. which is something outrageous. >> reporter: despite the alleged sexual assault the

victim remained in detention at brooks county for four more months. the week we visited the center the women went on strike refusing the cleaning and custodial that ice requires them to do for just $1 a day. immigration activists just an hour away in philadelphia rallied to support their fight. >> nine women on the inside launched a workers strike specifically because they demand being released. >> reporter: could participating in this strike impact these women's cases for asylum? >> all of the families we've talked to are saying they have been told if they break any of the rules they will get into some undefined trouble, which is horrifying, when they are fighting for their lives. >> they say the work program is entirely voluntary and contributes to the well-being of the residents.

a federal judge issued a ruling in april, calling it tv and tentative and placed it under a agriculture order. actually deterring other would be immigrants and instructed ice to work with other immigrants and come up with a policy for the detainees. >> what should happen to the detainees? >> they should be released and they should be released now. these mothers and fathers are following our laws. they came here illegally? they are following our laws. they are leaving incredible violence. countries that are basically in turmoil and they are coming and seeking asylum. >> what would you do to change brooks county? >> i would shut it down. that is the only thing i could think of because you see it's a mistake. whatever you try to object or

modify this mistake you are trying to modify a mistake. the only good thing to do is just to shut it down. when you see someone drowning and he is reaching to you with his hand, the natural thing is to take him to a safety shore, right? not to imprison him. >> as for gladys she and her daughter katherine received good news last month. a judge ordered her release because of the child's history of being abducted in honduras. >> translator: at my last hearing i had to describe all mi fears, and he believed what i had been saying. the judge granted asylum to my daughter. if it hadn't been a reasonable fear, i could have been deported once again. when they said i could go i didn't believe it, it made me very happy, that now i'm outside. >> reporter: gladys is now

living near her brother on the east coast. she is having her daughter undergo tests to find out what made her vomit blood. >> it is a very difficult time. >> reporter: unless the courts intervene the obama administration plans to double the amount of facilities for detention areas where hundreds of families continue to linger. >> "america tonight's" christof putzel is here. a judge is poised to release a thousand or so families. what's going to happen here? >> reporter: well, joie we don't really know. the judge put a gag order which an unusual thing to do. a copy of the judge's ruling challenged whether or not these detention centers actually act

as a dear alternate and it's putting serious pressure on immigration attorneys and ice, what that is we'll have to wait and see. >> we don't know whether the judge will decide to release these families into the community or force them ogo back? >> no, we don't know but there is so much pressure on right now, that the idea of forcing everyone to go back is pretty far fetched. and there's a lot of pressure to shut these communities -- consume shut these centers down. the immigration attorney that leaked this copy of the ruling did so because he was so outraged the children were being detaped. he had a client in one of the texas facilities that just last month tried to kill herself. she tried to slash her wrists and was deported back to honduras with her four-year-old son.

i. uspect we will see more of these cases. as the critical deadline looms will thousands be held with no place to come. one of the tiniest creatures in the sea releases a warning about the danger in our waters. and the life aquatic, a new generation of cousteau delivers a warning about our oceans at aljazeera.com/americatonight.

>> shot dead and the government does nothing. >> they teach you how to eliminate people? >> ya. >> we've done it and that is why we are there. >> my life is in danger. >> anyone who talks about the islamic religion is killed. >> don't miss the exclusive al jazeera investigation. >> i can't allow you not to go into that because that is your job. >> only on al jazeera america.

migrant group on edge living between two nations on the same island. haiti and the dominican republic share a border and a people. dr has long represented greater opportunity, many have sought to

bring their families in search of fortune. but many force them into the haitian border in what many describe as a cleansing. correspondent david mercer. >> they've been lining up for days desperate to get the papers they need so they can stay in their adopted country. immigrant workers from haiti some of whom have lived here for decades. they claim they are being discriminated against, their struggle to get papers through a complicated and bureaucratic process. >> translator: they don't want haitians here. they began this process so we could stay legally but it's all for nothing. they want to get us out of the country. >> those who haven't registered as foreign workers and right workers who say there are as

many' as 300,000 who haven't. rapidly growing economy but these workers are not the only ones under threat. those born here to undocumented immigrant parents have had their dominican citizenship taken away. wilma is one who could be stateless. the 22-year-old was born into santa rita, the fact that his father who arrived 50 years ago is undocumented means he has lost the right to stay. when he tried to obtain his birth certificate it was taken from him. >> i feel dominican. i'm a native of this place. i was born here, my child was born here. this is only country i know. >> reporter: an activist visits those most vulnerable to

those being deported to haiti, a country they have never visited. many divided because some have been denied papers. a prejudice has grown as haitians have moved out of the country side and into the cities. >> some admin kansas are dominicans are afraid. there is xenophobia because we're black and poor. poor country shouldn't have to take in those even poorer. >> organization he like amnesty international consider if they have the right to appeal but make this case on television to a population largely in favor of the plan the dominican interior minister rejects , those with genuine right to stay should be able to get their documents and

meet the requirements. >> translator: if someone arrives and says they're dominican, how do i know they're dominican? how do i know their identity when i don't even know their name. tell me, should i register them just for telling me this? how? >> for those still without the required papers and with no options left all they can do is wait and hope that their family will be spared. david mercer, al jazeera, sto santo domingo, dominican republic. >> some 250,000 people started the process but so far only about 300 have received residency permits. "america tonight" will have more reports from the dominican republic next week, as david

mercer speaks to those who have only known that as their home. why a tiny mollusk is a precursor. thursday on "america tonight," lisa fletcher investigates what's behind a citizens campaign that's lit up marijuana activists in ohio. is it really a ground up effort or are business interests pulling the strings? that's thursday on "america tonight."

reported... >> what do you think... >> we're making history right now... >> al jazeera america

polar bears stranded on ice flows or violent storms lark the coast. but there are effects while less seen, are just as impressive. lisa fletcher found evidence that the phenomenon is already threatening marine life in the pacific northwest. >> so this is the taylor shellfish farm. >> yes, this is basically the hutcherie where we grow under controlled condition our larvae.

>> what may be the most prolific nursery on any given days hundreds of millions of sea creatures begin life under his watchful eye. >> 20 million larvae in one tub. that's incredible. >> from this to the end we have about 600 million larvae. >> raises shellfish for the taylor shellfish company, located in western washington, largest shellfish processor in the united states. these oysters begin life with tanks filled with sea water. the larvae so small they can only be seen with a like row scope. >> when the little larvae leave here they have little tiny shells on them already? >> yes. >> but now the newly born oysters are under threat

by a little known issue known as ocean acidification. one of the most serious effects of greenhouse gases. some 22 million tons of co2 every day is absorbed by the otion. >> what do those eapplications do to the chemicals of the chemistry of the water? >> basically, the co2 becomes an acid, this ought to be a very crucial problem, especially in the early development of larvae. >> reporter: for juvenile oysters that can be lethal shells. it is not just oysters that are at risk but lobsters, crabs and clams.

it projects by the year 2100 ocean acidity will increase by a factor of 75. in water that a-- much 75, in water that acidic, the shell dissolved in just 45 days. >> what others other species is it affecting? >> great great grandfather first harvested oysters have this he be beach in the 1990s. taylor shell fich is a classic business. she and her siblings are the fifth generation of taylors to work here. much like farmers planting a crop, the taylors use juvenile oysters to seed these vast tidal beaches. here they will grow into adults ready to harvest. according to the taylors, ocean acidification has cost them

dearly in lost production. >> what that meant was we didn't have any oysters to plant on the beach. >> so there was a period of time when the baby oysters were dying off and you guys didn't know why. >> yeah, it kind of became the norm and we coordinated that to the course of water that was coming into the hatchery. >> we are standing in an oyster bed that was farmed by your great great grandfather. you must feel an enormous amount of responsibility for this land. >> absolutely. it gives you a huge sense of pride but also a huge sense of responsibility to the places that we farm and to make sure that we can farm them for another five generations. >> it will be interesting what happens next year. >> reporter: the taylors says if there's anything that five generations in the seafood industry have tawd them, you take the good with the bad. >> like a canary in the mine shaft i guess.

>> reporter: they have died to hit it head on. they've reached out to the scientific community looking for a practical solution to prevent oyster die-offs. >> what i have today is today's forecast. >> parker is an ocean og ographer. >> ocean acidification is uniform. there are big difference deep in the ocean. >> are you optimistic that this is a tool in the next couple of years that they can depend on? >> yes, i am. just like the tools that people use for weather forecasting. >> how are you compensating with the acidification of the water. >> ben has

made adjustments. treating acidity whenever the spikes occur. >> of course the lower ph the lower the co2 so the more carbonate it needs. >> may i? >> sure. >> you're making it every day? >> yes we do. >> basically adding tums to the water? >> that is basically what we're doing. >> while he believes this pioneering method is helping the oysters survive it hasn't completely eliminated dieoffs. numbers. >> therethere is much research being done showing more insidious consequences. >> we are around for 120 years and want to be around for another 120 years. this is a global issue that all of the world's oceans are going

to have to deal with at some point. important to us but it's important to a lot of other people too. and we just don't know all of the effects and you know what all could happen. >> reporter: so as one-year-old niah taylor carries the family torch into its sixth generation the taylors hope leaders are paying attention so kids like her have a legacy to preserve. lisa fletcher, al jazeera shelton, washington. >> that's "america tonight." please tell us what you think at aljazeera.com/americatonight. talk to us on twitter or facebook and come back, we'll have more of "america tonight" tomorrow. mp tomorrow. >> brittany menard's decision to take her own life last year. sparked a national debate.

>> brittany didn't wan't to die the brain tumor was killing her, she simply took control over how that process would go. >> now see what her husband is doing to keep his promise to change "right to die" laws nationwide. america tonight only on al jazeera america. the message is that this is one, one hateful hateful person. a search is underway for a gunman who opened fire at a church in the u.s. city of charleston. ♪ ♪ hello, welcome. you are watching al jazerra. i am richelle carey, live from our head quarters in doha. also coming up from the program. hong kong lawmakers reject a day jinx-backed plan for an electoral reform. yemen's capital is hit by a